Conformist Non-Conformists

Hippies.  You know those folks from the 60's and early 70's.  They prided themselves on being non-conformists.  They didn't conform to the established norms of society.  Yet in their non-conformity they seemed to all wear the same hair, the same tie-dye t-shirts, same jewelry, same jeans, took the same drugs, protested against the same things, and listened to the same music.  Despite their non-conformity they were conformists just like the rest of society, only on a smaller scale.

The same can be said of religious groups.  They shun society itself, or at least certain forms and functions of society, and live and act the same together.  I'm no sociologist, but I wonder if the concept of conformist non-conformism is what it means to be a subculture.

A subculture to which I might be most familiar is the evangelical subculture, however one wants to define it or describe it.

What of the person who is a non-conformist even amongst the non-conformists?

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all the From the Pew regular readers!  Also, Merry Christmas to all those who have never or will never even know my blog exists.  In any case, Merry Christmas.  And if I don't have a blog post lined up for next week's holiday, I wish you a Happy New Year too, even if I blog about other topics in the mean time.  And Feliz Navidad to my Spanish speaking readers.

Blogger's Cramp...and What To Do About It?

Long time readers of my blog (if there are many of them left) know that I haven't written much in the last so many months.  Because of my current job situation I have much less time to write.  Even when I do have time, I simply don't write the way I used to.  Lately I have had a string of great blog ideas, I start writing about those ideas, then I have to go to bed or something else.  The next day, my ideas don't sound so great and I abandon the thought, being glad I didn't follow through.

I have a few ideas why I'm not writing much anymore when I do have the time, so maybe I'll share those in the coming weeks.  Hey, now that's a good idea worth writing about!  Write about why I'm not writing.

Does anybody have similar problems, and if so, what have you done/are doing about them?  Oh, and if you're not reading my blog, nevermind.

Banned From The Lord's Table

Arthur Sido writes about the phone call he received from his church informing him that his family isn't allowed to commune with God.  What is also interesting is that one of the commenters doesn't see a problem with equating the Sido's family situation with gross imorality.  Let's call the fruit of man-made "formal church membership" doctrines what it is: rotten.